Criminals tried to smuggle the silver cup of Goering through Smolensk

The towel wrapped cup with a swastika on it bearing the inscription in German «1939 Feldwebel Franz Hagelstange am 16.8.42» (“to a warrant officer Franz Hagelstang”) and lower «Fur besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg» (“For special success in air war”) was found by the Smolensk customs officers while examining a delivery truck on the highway Moscow –Minsk near the check point “Krasnoje.” Everyone was shocked.

According to the “Smolensk culture preserve” experts this rarity is priceless. This antique is nothing but the famous cup established by Reich marshal Goering during the Second World War. The award was given for the special success in the air war. Only the best battle plane fliers successful in battles could be honored with such a cup. Till the middle of 1942 such cups were made of silver, later of the so-called German silver (also “alpaca” – the alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, with silvering).

According to the award list this cup was equal to the Iron Cross of the first class or the Knight’s Cross. “There were made only a few cups, because only the Third Reich aces were honored with them” – says the local historian Vladimir Galanov. According to the experts the opening bid of this antique at the legal auctions is more than 4000 euro.

As the cup was transported without the customs declaration, so the criminal case was launched. (Criminal code of Russian Federation, Part II, Article 188)

“This cup is of great historical and cultural value,” – says the customs police officer. “According to the tariff legislation such objects must be obligatory declared. However the man who carried the cup failed to do this”.